The labor department report on inflation in the US shows that it climbed to a nearly four-decade high in November. The report said that the consumer-price index rose by 6.8% over the past 12 months that ended in November. That level of inflation was the fastest rise since June of 1982. When food and energy prices were excluded, inflation climbed by 4.9% in the 12 months that ended in November. That was a sharp rise that has not been witnessed since 1991.
The report showed that several categories of items and services increased significantly. Gas prices rose to 58.1% for a one-year period that ended in November. This marked the highest rise since 1980. The prices of food and energy jumped by 6.1% and 33.3% respectively over this past year. The cost of groceries was reported to have risen by 6.4%, the highest jump since 2008. Notably, car insurance prices registered a reduction of 0.8%. Also, the price index for recreation activities and communication decreased by 0.2%.
This pandemic-era inflation was acknowledged by President Joe Biden, who said that the price increases continue to squeeze family budgets. He said that the progress made in the weeks after the report by the Labor Department shows that prices and costs are slowing.
To see a list of all the prices increases please click here.
